by free2beme 74 Replies latest jw friends
As for people calling on inactive ones, isn't that what they are suppose to do any ways??? I thought the elders were suppose to do those herding calls once a year on DF'd and/or DA'd people?
They dont here. And I cant imagine the elder who dfed me, who had to move as far away from me in the restaurant as he could, would come a knocking on my door!
"The preaching work is over, and will no longer continue. The message is not being meant with success in the field and no one is listening anymore and their hearts have grown hard to the message. The work of preaching will no longer focus on the neighborhoods of nonbelievers, but rather on trying to get those who have left (disfellowshipped, disassociated, and the inactive) to come back to the religion. Elders, Ministerial Servants, and spiritually strong publishers will be making an active effort to let those who left know, the preaching work is over and this is a sign of the end being ever more near. This will be their final warning, of sorts."
Interesting!!
When I told my wife about all the speculation going on around her about the "big announcment" coming up in October, she said "they are going to close the door!" she reminded me about how we'd heard the opinion expressed many time through the years by COs that one day the message would be changed from "now is the acceptible time to enter the 'arc of salvation' to 'you're going to die at Armaggedon!'" I've heard thatone a number of times myself and she informed me that she'd heard it said in the 50s and 60s, that was before my day.
Groups like the JWs do one of two things with the passage of time. They either change their doctrine radically to try and become acceptable to the mainstream like the followers of the Late Armstrong did after he died, or they turn inward and withdraw more and more like Amish. Personally, with the trend of the last few years of tightening control over their members, I don't really look for the Governing body to make any serious attempt to go mainstream. I could be wrong, they could find the announcement could be something along the lines of what the Armstrong folks did when they embraced the Trinity, but I could end up being surprised.
Forscher
A cousin of mine told me her parents are completely fired up and her 72 year old mom will be pioneering in October. Her mom said they are expecting major persecution after the tract is out and this will finally be it.
Right...the only persecution will be in the form of the hungover lad who barks at them to "go bother other people."
Unless persecution comes in the form of rolling eyes and heavy sighs () now??
I am not at all skeptical of the OP's mom's claims.
I remember back in 1973 one of the speakers at a circuit assembly said " Brothers there are only 23 months left before Armageddon".
I can perfectly imagine a speaker claiming the preaching is over. My assemblies were full of speakers jumping the gun. So was my kh. The mentality is that there is always the next big secret and everyone scrambles to be the one "in the know"--in some cases, even guessing.
They know the wts has been winding them up for some time now with the next big secret. The layoff at Bethel is big news and they've provided little explanation. I think the rank and file is chomping at the bit trying to put the pieces together; they've been encouraged to do that time and again. They probably think the laid off Bethelites will be appointed elders so they have enough warm bodies to call on the "inactives".
That's not to say the wts is actually going to come out and claim the preaching work is officially over and that is a sign that the big a is imminent, but they are good at innuendo.
That comment from your Mom is interesting - very detailed, which makes it hard to believe she misunderstood a comment by a speaker. Of course it's utter nonsense. As someone wrote, an announcement of that proportion would be made all at once in all congregations, by letter or a specific article, and not through some Special Day talk.
What a disaster that would be - calling on all of us DFed and DAed ones, with everything that we know!
It would be interesting to know what your mom actually heard that she so twisted up. Again, I'm amazed at the level of details she came up with, and the reasoning.
And what a laugh - the new tract is going to spark massive anti-JW persecution!! It'll spark a massive, collective yawn is what it will do. It won't even be a blip on the radar to anyone except the poor souls stuck with getting rid of their 50 copies! Coming soon to a laundrymat near you!!
"Final warning" my arse.
S4
Ha! Well I'll be waiting for a phone-call then! I better keep a little bit of research near the door or phone.
I'm not getting excited about it, because it seems unlikely, but damn would it be funny if they were told to stop. Just imagine the reaction of people in general. No more JWs on saturday mornings, no more knocking!lol
And my dad is always so proud to say that they are mostly the only ones who preach like Jesus wanted, and now he would have to sit home with crossed arms while we ask, well, it it here yet?
Thanks for the responses, other then this site I am 100% free of the Witness world and I like to see what is happening when it creeps in through comments like my mothers. I share the information with my sister, and we had a good laugh.
Maybe she made it up on purpose just to see if she could scare you back in. It wouldn't be the first time.
We thought that too. It was 0% successful for her, so knowing my mother it will be something she tries again in the future to see if it will work then.
Maybe your Mum had wandered into the wrong convention.
The work of preaching will no longer focus on the neighborhoods of nonbelievers, but rather on trying to get those who have left (disfellowshipped, disassociated, and the inactive) to come back to the religion.
This is pretty close to the current message from the Moonies.
